Many small businesses still rely on sending invoices as a PDF or on paper through the mail. Sending invoices in this way can be time-consuming at best. There are also greater risks of lost invoices, security breaches, delayed payments, and inaccurate cash flow representation. eInvoicing is a cloud-based solution to alleviate these pain points and automate steps in the bookkeeping process. Xero cloud-based accounting provides eInvoicing to businesses who use the app as their central accounting hub, automating steps of the bill pay and accounts receivable process.
Too often we hear myths around eInvoicing for small businesses, which creates a barrier to the many benefits. Below are common myths (debunked) that hold our clients back from adopting eInvoicing into their back office.
eInvoicing costs too much
If your business books reside in Xero, consider this myth busted immediately! eInvoicing is included as a part of Xero’s standard package and is a tool well-loved by Xero users. Knowing eInvoicing won’t cost you a penny means you have nothing to lose, but so much to gain.
My business is too small to need eInvoicing
As long as you send and/or receive invoices, eInvoicing is relevant to your business. No matter the size of your business, eInvoicing has many benefits including time-saving, ease of sending and receiving, and all invoices organized in one central hub, Xero.
Only send or receive a few invoices each month? Because Xero offers eInvoicing as a free service when using the accounting app, small businesses don’t need to worry about additional costs. eInvoicing is an excellent process to have on hand as your business grows and evolves.
eInvoicing is the same as sending a PDF
According to a survey conducted by Xero, 47% of small businesses surveyed believed that sending a PDF via email, or sending a link via email, was considered eInvoicing. While those methods are a step in the right direction, they offer only a few benefits over sending paper invoices through the mail.
eInvoicing takes invoicing to the next level by exchanging invoices directly between accounting software platforms. Once an invoice is approved or paid, those updates will be reflected directly on the books. This eliminates the need to manually enter in paid invoices; reducing time, and the possibility of human error that comes with entering data in multiple places.
I only receive invoices, so eInvoicing isn’t relevant for my business
eInvoicing offers many benefits whether you are sending or receiving invoices. If you don’t send invoices, and only receive invoices, you may be in for a surprise to find out just how eInvoicing can keep your books organized and automated.
When you receive a bill, rather than having to dig through emails or a stack of documents on your desk, eInvoices will be automatically imported into Xero. eInvoices will show up as a draft bill, waiting to be approved and paid, all right through Xero, following rules and processes set by you. Not only does this save time by reducing the need for manual entry, but also helps to improve your financial insights on accounts and cash flow representation.
Xero’s eInvoicing allows business owners to get paid instantly through the invoice and create custom invoices with brand assets, payment terms, messages, and other custom fields. This can all be done through the Xero app, accessible on any supported mobile device. Business owners can also send payment reminders based on their terms and processes. All of these are functions that otherwise may be time-consuming for a business owner or team member. So why not automate and simplify a necessary task?
If you’re still hesitant to adopt eInvoicing, send us a message. We can work with you to understand the ins and outs of Xero’s eInvoicing feature and how eInvoicing fits into your specific business. You may be surprised just how beneficial eInvoicing could be to your business. If your business is yet to adopt cloud-based accounting apps, let’s have a chat. There are many incredible advantageous and time-saving features for both general and task-specific processes.